OFFSHORE WIND
MARIN built scale models of all three solutions and ran tests in its Offshore Basin on 17 and 18 March to see if the barriers could deflect a scale model comparable to the Julietta D in storm conditions.
Maritime ‘crash barriers’ to avert collisions with wind turbines Dutch maritime research institute MARIN has tested three innovative barriers aimed at averting collisions between ships and wind turbines. The research was prompted by the incident involving the Julietta D on 31 January this year. ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF MARIN.
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his drifting bulk carrier initially collided with a tanker before hitting a transformer platform and a turbine foundation for the Hollandse Kust Zuid wind farm currently under construction. A collision with an installed wind turbine carries a real risk of the turbine toppling onto the vessel, seriously endangering crew, passengers, the ship itself, and the environment.
Urgency Research by the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) for the Dutch government shows that some 2,500 wind turbines are set to be installed
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in the North Sea in the period to 2030, bringing the risk of a turbine being hit by a ship to around 1.5 to 2.5 times a year. To give an idea: vessels going adrift on the North Sea amount to around 80 each year. Accidents can be avoided in various ways. For example, drifting vessels can put down their anchors but this requires active intervention by the ship’s crew in often difficult circumstances. Alternatively, emergency towing vessels (ETVs) can be deployed to tow the drifting ship to safety, while shipping supervision can be upgraded to include some form of vessel traffic management. “The accident involving the Julietta D shows the real
dangers posed by vessels adrift”, says MARIN’s Traffic & Safety Team Leader Yvonne Koldenhof. “Even with current resources such as ETVs, it’s difficult to avoid these kinds of incidents.”
Freeways of the sea A group of 20 experts from MARIN and the wider maritime sector developed a trio of innovative concepts for maritime crash barriers between shipping routes and windfarms during a workshop held on 23 February. “Our mission statement includes both marine safety and sustainable sea use”, explains MARIN’s General Director Bas Buchner. “That
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